American Association for the Advancement of Science names 10 UF faculty fellows

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals, has named 10 University of Florida faculty members to its 2025 AAAS Fellows.

The lifetime honor is one of the most prestigious distinctions in science, recognizing individuals whose work has made a meaningful impact across fields, from research and teaching to technological innovation, leadership in academia, industry and government, and excellence in communicating science to the public.

AAAS has recognized the following faculty from UF:

Adegbola Adesogan, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, is associate vice president, director of the Global Food Systems Institute, an E.T. and V.C. York Professor of International Agriculture and professor of animal nutrition. His work focuses on sustainably increasing animal‑source food production, improving forage quality and preservation and using nutritional innovations to enhance livestock productivity and human nutrition. He is internationally recognized for distinguished service to animal agriculture in developing regions and advancing nutrition for vulnerable populations.

Harvey B. Lillywhite, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is an emeritus professor of biology. A leading herpetologist, his research explores ecological and physiological adaptations of reptiles and amphibians. He directed the Seahorse Key Marine Laboratory for 14 years and published over 320 scholarly works. Lillywhite authored “Dictionary of Herpetology†and “How Snakes Work,†and co-edited “Islands and Snakes.†His global fieldwork spans Asia, Australia and Latin America. A Fulbright scholar and award-winning educator, he earned the Henry S. Fitch Award for Excellence in Herpetology in 2024.

Fredy Altpeter, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, is a professor of molecular genetics, plant breeding and biotechnology. His research integrates translational genomics, molecular physiology and metabolic engineering for crop improvement and sustainable production of value-added products. Key accomplishments include precision editing of the highly complex sugarcane genome, elevating biomass and sugar yield and metabolic engineering of sugarcane for hyperaccumulation of biomass oil. He has published 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and secured more than $30 million in extramural funding. 

MichaÅ‚ Kowalewski, Florida Museum of Natural History, is the Thompson chair of invertebrate paleontology. He is a leading figure in the field of conservation paleobiology, in which scientists use the recent fossil record to assess the health of modern ecosystems. Kowalewski studies marine fossils that were preserved shortly before humans began significantly altering Earth's environments, which he uses to determine how diverse these environments used to be, how they have changed due to human activities, and how this knowledge can be used in conservation and restoration of ecosystems.â€

Bette Loiselle, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, is a professor in the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation who also served as director of the Tropical Conservation and Development Program in the Center for Latin American Studies from 2011 to 2025. Her research centers on tropical ecology and conservation biology, with an emphasis on seed dispersal, biodiversity and the impacts of global change on tropical species. Her work includes long-term ecological field research, the application of ecological modeling and GIS to conservation planning, and leading interdisciplinary programs advancing tropical research and student development.

Todd Palmer, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is a professor of biology and was named a UF Research Foundation Professor in 2024.  A community ecologist, he studies how human activity shapes ecosystems. His research examines species loss, invasive species and ecosystem function to guide restoration efforts. Palmer has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers with more than 15,000 citations. He has been recognized for excellence in teaching by students and faculty, and is a fellow of the Pan-Africa Scientific Research Council.

Janet Robishaw, College of Veterinary Medicine, is a professor and associate dean of research and graduate studies at the UF College of Veterinary Medicine, where she leads the development of a veterinary learning healthcare system that integrates clinical care, research and data‑driven innovation. This platform also serves as a training environment for developing 21st‑century competencies among future leaders in veterinary science and medicine. Robishaw has made sustained and influential contributions to biomedical science through her work on heterotrimeric G protein–mediated signal transduction. Working alongside Nobel Laureate Alfred G. Gilman, her research helped define the molecular architecture and functional diversity of G‑protein signaling pathways. These pathways represent the most widely targeted and therapeutically important class of druggable receptors in modern medicine.

Grady Roberts, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, is a professor in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication and a Distinguished Teaching Scholar.  His work focuses on social science related to global education, experiential learning and educational practices in university settings. He leads an applied research program focused on improving the efficacy of educators, programs and institutions in the context of food, agriculture, and natural resources.  He also coordinates the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Teaching Resource Center. 

David C. Bloom, College of Medicine, is chair of the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, the Hazel Kitzman Professor of Genetics and the senior associate dean for graduate education. A professor at UF since 1999, Bloom is a nationally recognized virologist who developed novel therapies to treat herpes simplex virus, or HSV. His lab investigates the molecular mechanisms that allow the virus to persist undetected in neurons and the cellular signals that trigger it to “wake up.†Bloom’s lab was among the first to demonstrate that epigenetic changes — chemical modifications that regulate how genes are turned on or off — help control the viral genome during latency. Building on that discovery, the lab developed the first scalable human neuron model of HSV latency and reactivation, enabling researchers to study how the virus interacts with human cells on an unprecedented scale.

Sara J. Nixon, College of Medicine, is a distinguished professor of psychiatry, psychology and neuroscience and director of the UF Center for Addiction Research and  Education. Her research explores the influences of substance use and misuse in adults with and without substance use disorders as well as how biopsychosocial factors impact neurodevelopment and risk for substance use in youth and young adulthood. In addition to other awards from the National Institutes of Health, she is co-principal investigator of the NIH-funded ABCD Study at UF, part of the largest long-term study of brain development and child health ever conducted in the United States. As director of the Neurocognitive Laboratory in the UF Department of Psychiatry, Nixon and her team integrate methods including neurocognitive testing, brain electrophysiology and psychiatric research interviews. She has published over 176 peer-reviewed articles and chapters and earned the Henri Begleiter Award for Excellence in Research.